Support the bin workers – No to privatisation!

South Dublin County Council have agreed to lease their domestic refuse collection routes to Greyhound waste for an undisclosed amount of money with the handover due to happen on Monday 4th of April.

The elected Council which is dominated by Labour and Sinn Fein Councillors have expressed surprise at this development and have looked for briefings etc yet the Socialist Party said in its election manifesto for Dublin South West over a month ago that we “recently have confirmed the support of the Socialist Party for the industrial action that the Bin Men have voted on to prevent the Council privatising the service”.

The Labour Party have since refused to sign a motion under section 140 of the Local Government Act which would compel the Manager to rescind this decision.

Last week the Bin Men held a number of protests both inside and outside the Council and have been trying despite the role of SIPTU to put pressure on the Council. On Monday 28th of March the Socialist Party branches in South Dublin in conjunction with Cllr Gino Kenny of People Before Profit called a protest at the Council against the privatisation of the service and in support of the Bin Men. The lively protest culminated in an impromptu meeting between the protesters and the Bin Men to discuss tactics.

Socialist Party local representative Mick Murphy summed up the discussion in a text to Frank Lee the Shop Stewart when he said “Frank. Please pass this on to the men. The important thing is the men know that they must lead this fight and others will take their lead. You got a glimpse of that today following your action last week and that was our main aim. At meetings with the Council, Union, Labour Court etc that is what needs to come across. The Bin Men in the other areas will take your lead. It is important they see you are not afraid to act”. There are only days left to turn this situation around and we will report on events as they unfold